Finger key valve for wind musical instruments and method of making the same



July 17, 1962 .s. FISHER 3, 4,

FINGER KEY VALV OR WIND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Dec. 8, 1958 INVENTOR.

Jog/v 5. fish E2 ATTORNEY 3 e44 126 FINGER KEY VALVE Fen WIND MUsrcAL 1N- gBgiIEMENTS AND METHOD OF MAKXNG ran John S. Fisher, 1202 Baldwin St., Elkhart, Ind. Filed Dec. s, 1958, $61. No. waesa 3 Claims. (Cl. 18--59) This invention relates to improvements in finger key valves for wind musical instruments and method of making the same. The valves are of the type used in such instruments as trumpets, cornets, sousaphones, upright bases, euphoniums, valve trombones, melophones and French horns, and are of the type having a pistonlike body with passages therethrough which are employed to control tonal values according to the extent of movement thereof in a valve housing having lateral apertures therein.

Valves of this character as now constructed are expensive because the method by which they are made is very complicated and time-consuming. Thus it is now common to form the valve body by drilling holes in a tubular valve piston body at selected locations. Bent ductile tubes which have been collapsed transversely to permit them to pass through the holes in the piston body are inserted through such holes to span the same. These cross tubes are then expanded by successive actions forcing probes and spherical members through them until the intended cross-sectional shape of the cross tube is provided, with the cross tubes seating snugly in the holes in the piston body. Theends of the cross tubes are then secured in the piston, as by silver soldering, are cut off at their ends, and the entire piston is' then finished to accurate size and shape, as by turning the same in a lathe, cylindrically grinding the same, plating the same, 'and lapping the same for accurate fit in a valve casing. By reason of these operations and the requirement for hand work involved in the fabrication of the valve, production of such valves has been a problem in the industry for many years.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide a novel, simple and comparatively inexpensive method for manufacture of valves of this character with a minimum amount of hand work and in a minimum amount of time, without sacrifice of accuracy or proper functioning of the valve.

A further object is to provide a finger key valve for wind musical instruments which is inexpensive, which provides proper fingering operation for desired musical performance of the instrument in which the valve is used, and which is sturdy in construction and free from corrosion.

Other objects will be apparent from the following specification.

' In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a view of a comet employing my improved finger key valve;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side view of my improved finger key valve body;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the finger key body taken on line 3-3 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a step in the process of manufacturing my improved finger key valve;

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the valve taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 3; and

. FIG. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken on line 3- 3 of FIG. 5, and illustrating a modified embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the drawing which illustrates one embodiment of the invention, and to FIG. 1 which illustrates the application of the invention to a valve employed in a 3,044,126 Patented July 17, 1962 cornet, the numeral 10 designates a comet body having the usual mouthpiece 12 and tubular body with multiple convolutions or passages intermediate the length of the body between the mouthpiece 12 and the bell end 14 thereof, which passages are controlled by valves having valve housings 16 each receiving a valve body or piston member 18 which is normally spring-pressed in the valve housing 16 and which is actuable longitudinally or endwise in the housing 16 by pressing upon the fingering key 20 carried by said piston body 18 and projecting from the end of one of the housings 16.

Each of the valve bodies or pistons 18 has a plurality of cross passages extending therethrough. A conventional arrangement of cross passages is illustrated in FIG. 2 wherein cross passages 22, 24 and 26 are shown. These passages extend transversely through the valve body 10 in different directions with their mouths displaced both circumferentially and longitudinally of the valve body. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the passage 22 has its opposite mouths displaced longitudinally and circumferentially, with the circumferential displacement being less than 180 degrees. The passage 24 has substantially no longitudinal inclination, but opposite mouths thereof are displaced less than 180 degrees with one thereof displaced only slightly from longitudinal alignment wtih one mouth of the passage 22. The passage 26 has its opposite mouths displaced approximately 90 degrees, with one mouth thereof positioned at approximately the same circumferential location as or in longitudinal alignment with one mouth of the passage 22 and the other mouth thereof substantially longitudinally aligned with one month of the passage 24. The passage 26 is also longitudinally inclined. As a result of the angular displacement circumferentially between the opposite mouths of the various passages and because it is desirable that the passages shall be of substantially uniform cross-sectional size and dimension throughout their length, the passages must be curved.

Each valve body or piston preferably constitutes a metal tubular casing 28 of desired wall thickness and of accurately machined outer contour. A plug 3%, which may be formed of cork or other light weight solid material, preferably seals one end portion of the tubular body 28. A body of substantially rigid synthetic resin 32 fills and adheres to at least a portion of the remainder of the lengths of tube 28. The passages 22, 24 and 26 extend through the tube 28 and the synthetic resin body 32.

A passage 34 of small cross-sectional dimension may extend lengthwise through the valve body spaced from the passages 22, 24 and 26. Passage 34 provides means for displacement of air lengthwise in the valve casing 16 incident to movement of the valve body 18 in such casing without interfering with the desired control of air flow through the passages or convolutions of the body of the instrument for tone-controlling purposes by adjustment of the position of the valve body 18 with its various passages 22, 24 and 26 relative to passages in the valve housing 16 communicating with the dilferent passage portions of the tubular body 10 of the instrument.

The method by which the valve body or piston 18 is formed entails the following procedure. The metal tube 28 has drilled or otherwise formed therein at predetermined locations, longitudinally and circumferentially thereof, apertures which constitute the months at the ends of the passages 22, 24 and 26. A flexible expansible tube, whose outer diameter is preferably slightly less than extend between tube apertures constituting opposite mouths or ends of the passage 22. The tube may then be looped at 4% to permit the passage of portion 4-2. thereof between the openings in the tube 23 constituting the opposite mouths of the passage 24. Another loop in the tube may extend from portion 42 to portion id extending through and between the openings in the tube 28 which constitute the mouths for the passage 26. The end portion 4-5 of the tube projects from portion 45 and terminates spaced from metal tube 23. The end of portion 48 is then sealed in fluid-tight manner, as by clamp means 50. The opposite end of the tube is connected by a conduit 52 to a pump 54-, shown diagrammatically, or other source of fluid pressure. The pump 54 may be an air compressor or may be a liquid pump connected with a liquid reservoir (not shown). Pressure supplied from pressure source 54 serves to expand or inflate the tube 36 uniformly throughout its length to the extent required to insure a sealed fit of the expansible tube continuously circumferentially in each of the apertures of the metal tube 28 through which it passes.

The metal tube 28 has the cork or other plug mounted in one end thereof spaced from the apertures which define the ends of the passages 22, 24 and 26,

and the tube 28 is then held substantially erect, with the end mounting the plug 30 positioned lowermost. A synthetic resin of the casting type in fluent state, such as an epoxy resin with a curing agent, or any resin of which tools are commonly formed, is then poured into the metal tube 28 around the portions 38, 42 and 46 of the flexible tube 36. The metal tube 28 is held in this upright position and the flexible tube 36 is maintained in expanded condition until the synthetic resin body material 32 sets by chemical action or curing in the case of a thermosetting resin, or by cooling in the case of a thermoplastic resin. After the resin 32 sets, the flexible expanded tube 36 is freed of contained fluid pressure so as to permit it to constrict or shrink from expanded position and thus free itself from contact with the walls of the passages 22, 24 and 26 which have been molded therearound. The flexible tube 36 will be formed of a rubberlike material capable of withstanding heat exceeding the melting point or the curing temperature of the synthetic resin material 32 of which the valve body core is formed, and the material of the flexible tube 36 will also be such as to avoid bonding or adhesion thereof to the plastic valve body material 32. One material which is particularly well suited for use as the flexible tubing 36 is Tygon, which is a synthetic rubberlike material composed of a series of modified halide polymers, condensation resins, and diene derivatives and which may be compounded to provide selected physical properties including the properties of flexibility and resilience or expansibility necessary for use in the manner described above. The tubing 16 will preferably have a polished or very smooth outer surface and a uniform diameter and wall thickness throughout its length.

While the flexible expanded tube portions 38, 42 and 46 have been illustrated herein as being formed from one length of tube, the same may be formed from separate tubes, in which case one end of each tube will be sealed, and the other will be connected with a source of fluid under pressure, so that each of said tubes serving the functions of the tube runs 38, 42 and described and shown herein will be expanded into continuous circumferential sealing friction contact with the holes of the metal tube 28 through which it passes.

In the event it is desired to provide a bleed passage, such as passage 34, through the valve for the purpose of avoiding resistance to longitudinal movement of the valve body or piston 18 in the valve casing 16, the same can be formed by mounting a core member 56 in the metal tube :28 in a position to be spaced from each of the passage-forming runs 38, 42 and 46 of the expanded tube 36. The core 56 is held in predetermined position during the operation of pouring and setting of the synthetic resin body material 32 by any suitable means, as by support thereof by plug 30, and is not removed until the resin material has set. The core 56 may be formed of metal and may be coated with any suitable mold or core release material, such as wax, to avoid adhesion to the plastic body 32 and to facilitate pulling thereof from the plasti material, as well unde-stood in the art.

In some instances it may be desired to reinforce the walls of the passages 22, 24 and 26 at 58 as illustrated in FIG. 6. Such reinforcement can be accomplished by winding or wrapping reinforcing material around the runs 38, 42 and 46, or any selected ones thereof. amples of reinforcing material which may be used for this purpose include fiber glass cloth and metal screen material, such as stainless steel screening. This a forcing material is so arranged that it will not interfere with the expansion of the flexible core-forming tube runs or portions 33, 4'2 and 46 to eflect a continuous circumferential sealed fit in the apertures of the metal tube 28 through which they pass. As the synthetic resin mate rial 32 is poured, it penetrates the openings of reticulated reinforcing material, or reinforcing material of sheet or fluid impervious character is bonded to resin material 32 as the resin sets. This arrangement permits the synthetic resin walls between adjacent passages to be made of very thin cross-section without sacrifice of strength or danger of piercing thereof, and thus makes possible close spacing of the various passages in the valve or piston body, with minimum requirement for deviation of crosssectional shape and dimension thereof from a preselected standard cross-sectional size and shape.

After the resin body core 32 has been molded in place in the metal tube 28 so as to define the desired passages 22, 24 and 26 therethrough, the resulting valve body 18 may be machined in any manner required to finish it for its intended use. Thus the outer metal tubular casing 28 accommodates turning in a lathe, cylindrical grinding, plating and lapping operations conventional in seating a piston valve within a cylindrical valve housing.

This method enables the accurate manufacture of metal surfaced valve or piston bodies to be conducted by comparatively low cost procedures, eliminating many of the operations which have been required in the construction of such valves heretofore, and substituting therefor procedures which can be accomplished rapidly and comparatively inexpensively by mechanics who do not require the degree of skill which former processes have required. Another advantage of the method is that assured uniformity of the valve passages in all valve or piston bodies is secured, and all danger of the occurrence of grooves, crevices or openings in the passage Walls is eliminated. The passage walls are smooth, uninterrupted and similar in each valve unit.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be understood that changes in the construction and the method may be made within the scope of the appended claims Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. The method of making a finger key valve for wind musical instruments, consisting of the steps of forming a pair of spaced apertures in the walls of a metal tube in predetermined positions circumferentially and longitudinally thereof, sealing one end of said tube spaced from said apertures, threading a flexible expansible tubular member of uniform cross-section through said apertures, wrapping reticulated reinforcing material around the portion of said flexible member within said metal tube, expanding said flexible tubular member by fluid pressure into sealing engagement with said apertures, pouring synthetic resin in fluent state into said metal tube to a level to immerse said expanded flexible member to imbed and penetrate said reinforcing material, releasing fluid pressure from said flexible member after said resin has set, and then Withdrawing said flexible member.

2. In the method of making a piston type valve body having a curved transverse passage therethrough for use in a wind musical instrument, the steps of threading an expansible tube through spaced openings in a tubular memher to span the bore of said member, subjecting said tube to fluid pressure to expand it into continuous circumferential engagement with each of said openings while maintaining said tube portion between said tube openings in selected curvature lengthwise thereof, filling the portion of said bore surrounding said tube with synthetic resin in fluent state, and maintaining said tube in expanded form and selected curvature until said synthetic resin has set.

3. In the method of making a piston type valve body having a plurality of transverse curved passages therethrough and usable in wind musical instruments, the steps of threading an expansible tube successively through a plurality of sets of spaced openings spaced circumferentially in a tubular member whereby longitudinally spaced parts of said tube span the bore of said member at a plurality of locations, the openings of at least one set also being spaced longitudinally of said tube expanding said tube by fluid pressure into continuous circumferential engagement with each of said openings, filling the portion of said bore surrounding the portions of said tube Within said bore with synthetic resin in fluid state, and maintaining said tube in expanded form and in selected curvature between the openings of each set until said synthetic resin has set. 1

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,650,307 Temple Nov. 22, 1927 1,715,920 Henry June 4, 1929 2,149,714 Wornell Mar. 7, 1939 2,261,416 Schrier Nov. 4, 1941 2,299,111 Rogers et al. Oct. 20, 1942 2,312,587 Price Mar. 2, 1943 2,404,818 Swinehart July 30, 1946 2,623,261 Semeraro Dec. 30, 1952 20 2,730,003 Loney 'Jan.10,1956

FOREIGN PATENTS 611,028 Great Britain Oct. 25, 1948 

